Fez-wearing shop worker loses race discrimination case after being compared to Tommy Cooper
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A FEZ-WEARING shop worker lost a race discrimination case after colleagues likened him to comedy legend Tommy Cooper. Kester Bey sued Tesco over jibes he resembled the bumbling 6ft 4in magician famed for his tasselled red felt headdress and “Just like that” catchphrase.
![[Man in a fez on a beach.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/5d6a1462-2546-4440-992a-0ad77bd10b3b.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Mr Bey, an independent councillor from Reading, quit in May 2023 after more than two years on the shop-floor. He told a preliminary employment tribunal hearing that he faced racial and religious harassment because of his headgear. The Muslim, who calls himself a “grand sheikh” on social media, was also frustrated at a lack of training, the Watford hearing was told.
![[Photo of Tommy Cooper in a fez.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/e493ab1d-f12c-418a-a466-bb5f99cfb283.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Employment Judge Paul Housego said: “He describes himself as Moorish, and always wears a fez. "He says this is connected with both race and his religion. "He says that it was harassment to describe him as looking like Tommy Cooper (a comedian and magician from the 1960s who always wore one).”.
![[Illustration of a fez with five facts about it.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/tp-graphic-fez-facts-1701_85fa6f.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Mr Bey launched legal action in October 2023, beyond the time limit for most claims, and filed a more detailed complaint in 2024. It was struck out as too late and having “no reasonable prospect of success”. Cooper, of Llanelli, South Wales, found fame with his one-liners and magic tricks, which culminated in him saying “Just like that”.
